Ebola has been triggering alarms in other parts of the world besides Western Africa, including Spain and the U.S. Faced with the severity of the problem, people all over the world understand that it is essential to control the disease as soon as possible

The outbreak of Ebola in Western Africa makes it clear that there is an urgent need to tackle national development issues in that area. Some experts point out that Ebola is principally a disease that affects poor people in poor countries. It is much less of a threat to rich countries with comprehensive medical systems.

Zsuzsanna Jakab, the European director of the World Health Organization (WHO), said in a statement that risk of Ebola spreading in Europe is very low. However, Western African's countries including Libya, Guinea and Sierra Leone are heavily impacted by the disease because they lack public medical resources, doctors and effective medicines.

The outbreak of Ebola has made the situation in those countries even worse. The World Bank has estimated that Ebola could cost West Africa 32.6 billion dollars if not controlled properly.

An editorial in the Financial Times predicted that Ebola might even become a permanent feature of life in west Africa, hindering the trade and investment that had begun to brighten the outlook for long-suffering local populations.

International society has to fight against the threat from the "poverty trap" in favor of humanism, and maintain peace in the world.

The "Poverty trap" is an important concept in development economics. Generally speaking, a poverty trap is "any self-reinforcing mechanism which causes poverty to persist". Many countries experience poverty because of the trap.

The latest data released by World Trade Organization suggest that an outbreak of Ebola in West Africa could pose a major threat to the world economy, and any spread of the disease could trigger a broader panic. The presence of several such factors has made trade forecasts particularly difficult to gauge this year.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon is worried that some countries have stopped flights to Ebola-affected countries, saying that this action will worsen the situation in those countries.

It is of great significance for the UN Security Council to appeal to the relevant countries to lift their restrictions on ordinary travel and borders. Now is the time for the world to combat Ebola together.

The article is edited and translated from《人民日报钟声：埃博拉，一个“贫困陷阱”威胁》, source: People's Daily